[SE] As high as the tallest mountain

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

When Zephyr had asked him to go on a hike up Apopo, during Monsoon Season, to get some flowers, Sam had been baffled. His friend had seemed up until this point quite content to spend the whole time the storms raged outside drinking and being miserable on his couch (his natural habitat), and he hardly seemed like the type to want floral decorations to dot around his home, which only resembled a nice house nowadays because Sam had a tendency to clean when anxious.

Still, Zeph was a good friend and they had grown weirdly close in a short time, Sam feeling almost as if they were a kind of family relation somehow (not the relationship he'd wanted, but he was working on accepting that). Thinking it would be nice to make this into a pleasant day, he'd dressed in a daringly casual outfit, short sleeves and loose, light pants, the cold or stormy winds not mattering to his Ascended skin. He followed Zeph up the mountain path, watching Haulani get smaller behind them.

"So...can you remind me again why it is we're going to pick flowers?" He asked, stepping over a large log and wobbling a little, not used to adventures out in nature. "Do all your dock worker friends know about this hobby?" A little good natured laugh left him, Sam personally thinking that picking flowers was a fine way to spend the afternoon.

SAMUEL

zephyr

You've actually been pretty fucking busy through this monsoon season, but that's neither here nor there. You're glad when Red agrees to come along on this little excursion - he could use some time out of the house - though you don't hide your wry amusement at his choice of clothes. First time he's wearing short sleeves and it's the rainiest time of the year. Figures.

You are dressed far more appropriately, in a dark blue poncho and a wide-brimmed hat and boots that nearly reach your knees. Your bag is slung across your back: you'll put the flowers into them, if you manage to find any. The problem with flowers that only bloom during lulls in rainstorms is that they then get destroyed when said rain comes again, making timing a critical thing.

"Aye, an' with any luck we're gettin' up here 'fore they do." You raise a brow to Sam's playful question, pace steady as you climb the slick hill. "These things're like crack t'mers, Red. Worth a fortune if ya get 'em in one piece."

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

Following along less gracefully but not for a lack of enthusiasm, Sam hummed at Zeph's answer, looking behind them as if expecting to see crowds of angry dock workers chasing them up the path: thankfully, at least for the moment, there were none. Knowing that he was helping with smuggling business (or at least, something shady) did unnerve him a little, but Sam had been through far too much recently to care enough to stop.

Showing his inexperience though, his next question was: "...What's crack?" Asked as he hopped over a particularly wet patch of mud. Presumably something that humans would want badly, he could pick up that much, but past that he wasn't sure. "And...how do Mers pay, when you give them things? Do they have anything worthwhile for us to get?" They had to, because he knew they had a part in the operations, but Sam couldn't think of much beyond sand from the deeps that they could get that humans could not.

SAMUEL

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

Following along less gracefully but not for a lack of enthusiasm, Sam hummed at Zeph's answer, looking behind them as if expecting to see crowds of angry dock workers chasing them up the path: thankfully, at least for the moment, there were none. Knowing that he was helping with smuggling business (or at least, something shady) did unnerve him a little, but Sam had been through far too much recently to care enough to stop.

Showing his inexperience though, his next question was: "...What's crack?" Asked as he hopped over a particularly wet patch of mud. Presumably something that humans would want badly, he could pick up that much, but past that he wasn't sure. "And...how do Mers pay, when you give them things? Do they have anything worthwhile for us to get?" They had to, because he knew they had a part in the operations, but Sam couldn't think of much beyond sand from the deeps that they could get that humans could not.

SAMUEL

zephyr

Well, probably should have seen this one coming. Resisting the urge to groan and/or facepalm, you slip over a large patch of mud, gaining your footing in the most ungainly fashion possible but managing not to fall. "Shit. Gah. Fuckin' mud." It's ashy mud to boot, so double the fun.

But anyway. Let's talk about drugs, kiddos.

"Crack's a drug. An awful one- fucks people up good, but they can't get enough'a it. Lucky there doesn' seem t'be a lot'a it 'round these days." Probably thanks to the new governor, another thing to be reluctantly grateful about. "The flowers- they ain't that bad. But they seem t'give Mers wild fuckin' trips."

Stepping over a log, you turn to raise a brow at Sam. "How'd'ya think? All the shit that falls outta boats's gotta go somewhere, after all."

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

Sam rushed forward a step when Zeph began to slip, but it seemed he had it under control, even if he got messy in the process. With an amused smile he tried very hard to keep silent, Sam carefully picked his way around the puddle instead, not fancying an impromptu bath at the moment.

He was curious to learn about whatever Zeph could tell him, the strange criminal underground he frequented utterly alien to Sam. Never having felt a drug's high nor able to feel one in the future, it was hard for him to understand quite how addictive it could be. "Have you ever had it? I've never really...grasped how things like that are meant to make people feel." While he didn't want to make too many assumptions, Zeph clearly wasn't a stranger to substance abuse.

The answer about Mers was obvious enough, so he just nodded. Sam was quiet for a little while, lost in his own thought, until his mind turned to the tryst he'd had a week or so prior. With a somewhat bashful smile on his face, he asked: "You know Milo, right? He said he was...that he worked for you, somehow?"

Question asked, Sam looked out before them and saw a shallow trench, a small creek running down the middle, bridged by a thick log. The log was clearly old; covered in slimy moss and full of bumpy pock marks, it would be difficult to pass. Taking a deep breath to hold (and hypothetically, he could hold it forever), Sam took his first step, then another - he found once he had the momentum, it wasn't so hard, and before long he was stepping off on the other side and looking back for Zeph.

SAMUEL

zephyr

"Crack? No. Plen'y'a other things, though." You don't bother asking about his experience with drugs: poor kid has made it incredibly apparent how little exposure he had to any sort of fun prior to moving in with you. At least he can go outside in the (sort of) sun, now. "It's different by th'person, an' th'drug. Some'a 'em make ya feel real chill, others amp ya up. Or make ya see weird shit." You shrug, as though this were all perfectly normal. "Important thing's t'be safe when ya do 'em, an' try not t'lose yer head."

You're eyeing the trench and log when he asks about Milo, and you're oblivious enough to miss the smile - a good thing, because you might have reacted very differently if you had. "Milo? Yeah. Good kid. Been a runner for me." Might be more soon, but you don't talk about work with Sam.

He makes it across the slippery looking log with a startling amount of ease, which means you better manage just as well or wind up looking a fool. Also inhaling deeply (though unlike Sam you will infact have to exhale again) you step onto the makeshift bridge, struggling to find even footing on the mossy bark. By some miracle you manage, though, exhaling as you reach the end before looking back at Sam.

"Why? You bump into him?" Obviously he did, you idiot. You're about to continue up the trail when you spot something a little way to the right- "Oh, shit. Rambutans. C'mon." The thing you've seen is a lone tree that has somehow withstood the storm and volcano to produce an abundance of bright red, incredibly spiky-looking fruit, each one about the size (and, incidentally, consistency) of your eyeball. Probably. You've never seen one outside of a head.

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

While Sam expected Zeph to have experience with drugs, hearing him say so still made him feel like he was in the presence of someone cool and dangerous; he wondered what kind of person Zeph was, with drugs. When he drank, he seemed to get morose and depressed, but perhaps it had been different before Rey had died? Not knowing how to ask he didn't, just nodding and humming a noncommittal acknowledgement.

Hearing Milo referred to as a 'kid' given what had transpired did make him cringe a little, but Sam supposed in Zeph's eyes he might well be a 'kid' too (which he also, did not like). "Mhm...he came to the shop." Sam paused to make sure Zeph got over the log, holding out a hand just in case but finding it was not necessary.

Following behind Zeph to the tree he had pointed out, which to Sam looked like any other fruit tree in the area, he felt like he had to blurt out the secret now before it became too much of a thing to reveal. "We slept together. I mean, um. I bit him, and he was shirtless, and it all just...happened." Grimacing off into the trees, he waited to see what Zeph would think.

SAMUEL

zephyr

Although I, personally, loathe the spiky fuckers, you figure rambutans will be a great thing to bring to the festival that Vai's been going on about. You've got a huge hand of the fruit picked and are putting them in your bag when Sam blurts out his great big secret, causing you to freeze mid-insertion as your brain short circuits a little bit.

Sam and Milo. Milo and Sam. Doin' the bite and the shit that comes af---- yeah no brain that's a hard pass.

Slowly, slowly, you turn around, features schooled into an expression only mildly resembling that of a father who has just learned far more about his child's sex life than he could have ever possibly wanted to know. "You an' Milo, eh?" you repeat rather stupidly, still trying to assemble your thoughts. Slowly. Gently. "Y'know... I don' think he's the type t'be lookin' fer somethin' serious, Red..."

Translation: Oh gods Samuel please don't tell me you've fallen in love with the idiot.

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

Sam had no idea what reaction he had been expecting from Zeph to his 'news', but the way he slowly turned, fruit in hand; it made Sam laugh, unexpectedly, instead of embarrassed. He held a hand up over his mouth, waiting to see what Zeph would say.

"Mhm. Me and Milo, but oh--" Not having considered that concern whatsoever Sam paused for a moment, trying to interrogate himself for any lingering romantic feelings for Milo: he found none. "--Don't worry about that. I...we tried to talk beforehand, and honestly it was very awkward. I don't think we have much in common; it was just..." Trying his best to avoid the word sex, he waved a hand around vaguely.

Reaching forward to take one of the fruit, Sam turned it over a few times, unsure of just what Zeph was collecting them for; eventually deciding that it couldn't poison him anyway he tried to take a bite of the one he had picked, wanting to see what the fuss was about.

SAMUEL

zephyr

LA LA LA LA, you don't need to picture this. Sure, you've had your fair share of scandalous thoughts regarding Red and his tight little ass, but those have been largely bite-induced, and are more uncomfortable than enticing, these days. Especially since more and more you see him as a kid, sweet and misguided and more in need of a friend than a fuck buddy.

But if he and Milo want to get it on platonically, who are you to judge? As long as it stays as a mutual fucking. Rae's tits, you are not ready for your children to date.

"Well... good for you, then." You watch him pick one of the rambutans, but you're too busy trying not to imagine him biting into Milo's wrist to warn him about the skin. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Get your shit together. "Jus', y'know, maybe don' bring him t'my place for hook-ups, ok? Known the kid since he was in diapers, an' th'thought of it is..."

You shudder dramatically, then open your eyes and shudder again to see him with an unpeeled rambutan that's clearly missing a chunk. "Red... did you jus'... eat th'fuckin' skin?"

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?

And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful

Sam could tell that Zeph was struggling a little with the whole thing, though he wasn't quite sure why (did Zeph...like Milo? Surely not). As Zeph settled on a 'good for you' he gave a nervous smile, hoping that everything was alright; as the true nature of Zeph's concerns came to light, he laughed and shook his head. "I would never do that in your house. The only people doing that in your house should be you and Ver--"

Stopping himself, realising that he hadn't shared with Zeph that he knew about all of that, Sam tried to cover up his last words with an unconvincing cough (especially as Ascendeds, usually, did not need to cough).

It seemed he'd accidentally made a pretty good distraction, though. Blinking at Zeph as he chewed the very unappetising fruit, he nodded. "Was I...not meant to? I did think it tasted bad." He admitted, looking down at the odd thing in his hand, bite mark out of it and all. "...I've never seen one of these before."

SAMUEL

zephyr

Lucky for your timelines you're still too flustered to pick up on his slip of Vervain's name, for whatever reason, instead putting the rambutans away. The last thing you want to be thinking about right now is sex, mostly because that puts you back into dangerous, Milo-and-Sam territory. You do not need to imagine the children engaged in sexual activity. No thank you.

Instead you focus on the rambutans and Sam's attempt to eat one whole. Laughing brightly, you pop the peel off of one of them and offer it to the Ascended, this time simply as pulpy fruit. "There's a pit in th'middle, don' eat that." Can he choke? You have no idea.

Popping another fruit into your own mouth, you jerk your head back towards town. "C'mon, Red, let's get back before th'rain picks up."

{fin}

we were toogether
who cared about the rest?